Neckties



Sept. 28, 1965 J. T. SCULLY 3,208,081

NECKTIES Filed July 17, 1963 ZNVENTOR United States Patent f 3,208,081 NECKTIES John T. Scully, 235 W. 76th St., New York, N.Y. Filed July 17, 1963, Ser. No. 295,7 70 4 Claims. (Cl. 2150) This invention relates to neckties generally and more particularly to four-in-hand pretied neckties having a form element in their knot portions and a fastener member carried by the form element with which to fasten the necktie on the neckband of a collar.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a generally improved necktie of this type as to appearance, durability of cheap parts and their relationship to each other, and economy of manufacture; a further principal object is to provide novel means for supporting a flexible fastening member against undesirable deformation of shape and position relative to other parts and for maintaining the fastener member and necktie knot in a substantially fixed, desirable, angular position or relationship", a further principal object is to accomplish the above objects in a necktie having a flexible form element molded of lightweight and cheap synthetic plastic material. Other objects will hereinafter become apparent from the description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which similar reference numerals or characters refer to similar or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing: FIG. 1 is :a small scale front elevation of my improved necktie; FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear view, on a larger scale, of the necktie shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view; FIG. 4 is a top view; FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in plan and partly in section, of knot parts of the necktie, the sectional view being taken on the plane of line 55 of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a side plan and section view of a part.

In the prior art and manufacture, it has been common practice to form or mold a necktie form element of cheap, lightweight, flexible, synthetic plastic material and to knot a fabric necktie thereon in well known manner, for example, the fabric necktie may be tied on a form element in the manners suggested by or shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,798,226 to H. Kanter or in any other suitable manner. The molded synthetic plastic form elements presently in use are very lightweight, of thin section and are very flexible. While these molded elements are extremely cheap and do, initially, have some degree of resilience, they are, really, resiliently weak and often a change in the position or relation of the various parts of the form element to the other parts of the element and or necktie knot is caused by the inherent weakness in the material with the result that the desired angle of knot to collar or collar neckband can not be originally attained in most instances or can not be long maintained after successive wearings due to undesirable, gradual deformation of the parts by the weight of the necktie hanging from the col lar neckband. Further, the appearance of the necktie is less than desirable when on the neck or in a store if the fastener member is not properly related to the knot so as to be virtually hidden from front and side view. The present invention aims, among others, to prevent such undesirable results.

Referring more particularly to the necktie and parts shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 inclusive, the form element is provided with a knot supporting member 21 having rearwardly divergent wings 22 and wing extensions 22x, 22x and an inverted, generally U-shape fastener member 23 which is connected at its lower end to the knot supporting member 21 by a connecting or spacing member 24 from which it projects upwardly. Element 20, per se, is preferably made by molding, in the well known manner,

3,298,981 Patented Sept. 28, 1965 synthetic plastic to the shape and size desired and is flexible and resilient and preferably similar to such elements now in commercial use. Knotted on the knot supporting member of the form element in the well known manner of a Windsor knot is a fabric, four-in-hand necktie 25 having a knot portion 26, a front depending member or portion 27 and a rear depending member or portion 28. As shown herein, fastener member 23 is disposed rearwardly of the knot whereby the front of a neckband N of a collar may be easily and conveniently received between the outer or rear leg 29 of the fastener member 23 and the front or inner leg 30 of the fastener member. The inner ends 31 and 32 of the respective depending portions 27 and 28 form the back or rear face of the knot and, at the bottom of the rear of the knot and adjacent the spacing member 24, the side edges of ends 31 and 32 are stitched together by stitching 33, in the well known manner, which holds the ends against spreading apart. The preferably flexible and resilient fastener member 23 is also preferably flexible relative to spacing member 24 and member 23 is bent resiliently or flexed resiliently forwardly, that is in the direction towards the rear of the knot, whereby leg 30 is flexed to a forward position, preferably against the material of the knot at the rear of the knot and, more preferably, is hard pressed against the knot so as to compress some of the fabric material of the knot and be partially imbedded therein (see FIG. 5). This flexure of leg 39 serves to relatively lift flexible, resilient leg 29 rearwardly upwardly angularly relative to the knot supporting element 21 and also serves to bring or draw leg 29 relatively closer to the back of the knot, than usual, whereby the upper rear portions of inner ends 31 and 32, that is the upper portions of the rear of the knot (as indicated at locations 31 and 32, approximately, in FIGS. 2 and 4), together with the wing extensions 22x, 22x, when the latter are between the inner and outer folds of a turn down collar, serve in cooperation with leg 29 of the fastener member to position and fasten the knot at a desirable angle to the neckband of a collar. Any suitable means may be used to support the fastener member in its upwardly projecting position or secure or hold the fastener member in its flexed position and under tension, as in FIG. 5. As shown herein, I have found that loops or stitches 34 of suitably strong thread, .as many stitches or loops as may be desirable, engaged into the material of the inner ends 31 and 32 at the back of the knot and passing rearwardly around leg 30 preferably adjacent its top and drawn tight may be satisfactorily used to maintain the fastener member in this new and desired relation to the knot and the knot supporting element.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 6, it will be observed that, initially, the form element per se is of the molded type according to the best well known molding art whereby leg 30 and the plane of the central portion of the knot supporting element diverge slightly in the upward direction and that leg 39 and leg 29 diverge slightly in the downward direction in order that parts of the mold, in manfacture, may be more easily withdrawn from the cavities between the molded parts. As a result, combined in a necktie, the leg 30 at its top is usually too far rearward from the knot relative to the rear sides of the knot particularly and the wing extensions of the form element for a proper cooperation of all the parts to set the knot at the desired angle to the neckband of a collar. By flexing the fastener 23 centrally towards the knot, that is towards the center of the knot in the hollow thereof, as will be clearly seen upon particular reference to FIG. 5, the result is a desired angular projection of the knot relative to neckband N of a collar and not a mere hang, as a curtain or drape, of the necktie. It will be further observed in FIG. 5 that the stitching 34 is engaged, preferably, into both inner end 31 and inner end 32 of the depending portions and this is desirable because, if ever, the knot should loosen up, it can be tightened again by drawing the depending portions 27 and 28 downwardly which will simultaneously tighten the stitching around and against leg 30 and tend to draw the leg 30 harder against the rear of the knot. It will be understood that, if'desired, the stitching 34 may be in only one of the inner ends 31 or 32 and it will be further understood that stitiching 34 may be separate, as shown herein, from stitching 33 or may be continuous therewith whereby the thread in the latter may be led upwards alongside the fastener member and also used to provide the stitching 34. No attempt has been made to show in FIG. 5 the various well known layers of fabric in the inner ends 31 and 32, such as lining, front and back cover and seam folds.

Although I have described a particular embodiment of the invention for purposes of illustration, I wish it to be understood that this should not be construed as a limitation and that the invention is susecptible to minor changes without departure from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. In a pretied, four-in-hand necktie having a form element including a knot supporting member with rear wardly divergent wing extensions, the combination of a fabric necktie knot member carried by the knot supporting member the knot supporting member being inside the fabric member of the knot, a generally, inverted U- shape flexible fastener member supported by the knot supporting member and having front and rear legs, means connecting the lower end of the front leg to the lower end of the knot supporting member, said fastener member being disposed in an upwardly projecting position and forwardly flexed at the rear of said knot, and means engaging the fabric necktie knot member and said fastener member for supporting the latter in its upwardly projecting and forwardly flexed position.

2. In a pretied, four-in-hand necktie having a form element including a knot supporting member with rearwardly divergent wing extensions, the combination of a fabric necktie knot member carried by the knot supporting member, the knot supporting member being inside the fabric member of the knot, a generally, inverted, U-shape resiliently flexible fastener member supported by the knot supporting member and having front and rear resiliently flexible legs, the front leg having a forwardly projecting flange serving as a spacer member and connecting the lower end of the front leg to the lower end of the knot supporting member, said fastener member projecting upwardly at the rear of said knot with said front leg flexed forwardly, and means engaging the material of the knot and said fastener member to hold the latter with said front leg flexed forwardly.

3. In a pretied, four-in-hand necktie having a form element including a knot supporting member with rearwardly divergent wing extensions, the combination as claimed in claim 2 and with said front leg flexed forwardly against the material of the back of the knot and with said means holding the fastener member with its flexed front leg pressed against the back of the knot.

4. In a four-in-hand necktie including a form element having a knot supporting member and a fabric necktie element carried by the form element and knotted on said knot supporting member thereof, said necktie element and said knot supporting member comprising the knot of the necktie: the combination of a generally, inverted, U-shape flexible fastener member disposed in an upwardly projecting position and forwardly flexed at the rear of the knot on the outside thereof and having at its lower end a forwardly projecting flange serving as a spacer member and connecting the fastener member to the knot supporting member, and means engaging into the cavity formed by the U-shape of said fastener member and into the knot of the necktie for engagingly supporting the fastener member forwardly flexed in its upwardly projecting position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 334,352 1/86 Cooke 2-152 2,133,296 10/38 Holzknecht 2153 2,931,045 4/60 France 2153 2,941,212 6/60 Caparosa 2154 3,070,806 1/63 Forte 2-153 FOREIGN PATENTS 210,196 9/57 Australia.

202,794 8/23 Great Britain.

76,311 12/ 17 Switzerland.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A PRETIED, FOUR-IN-HAND NECKTIE HAVING A FORM ELEMENT INCLUDING A KNOT SUPPORTING MEMBER WITH REARWARDLY DIVERGENT WING EXTENSIONS, THE COMBINATION OF A FABRIC NECKTIE KNOT MEMBER CARRIED BY THE KNOT SUPPORTING MEMBER THE KNOT MEMBER CARRIED BY THE KNOT SUPTHE FABRIC MEMBER OF THE KNOT, A GENERALLY, INVERTED USHAPE FLEXIBLE FASTENER MEMBER SUPPORTED BY THE KNOT SUPPORTING MEMBER AND HAVING FRONT AND REAR LEGS, MEANS CONNECTING THE LOWER END OF THE FRONT LEG TO THE LOWER END OF THE KNOT SUPPORTING MEMBER, SAID FASTENER MEMBER BEING DISPOSED IN AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING POSITION AND FORWAREDLY FLEXED AT THE REAR OF SAID KNOT, AND MEANS ENGAGING THE FABRIC NECKTIE KNOT MEMBER AND SAID FASTENER MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING THE LATTER IN ITS UPWARDLY PROJECTING AND FORWARDLY FLEXED POSITION. 